An old dog plays new tricks

Roars echoed around the tall Georgia pines - the annual pilgrimage to golf's most exclusive piece of real estate was in full swing. They were there to catch glimpses of the sport's biggest stars - past and present - striding the fairways of the Augusta National. And not one shot would count towards determining who would be wearing the Green Jacket tonight.

Practice days at the start of Masters week aren't subject to the same strict limit on numbers as the days of competition. So vast numbers swarm across the course seeking out their favourite golfing figures. 'Hey where's Freddie?' is as likely to be heard as 'Let's find Tiger,' because no one can quite match the charismatic Fred Couples for popularity in American golfing hearts.

So when they were standing four deep to watch Couples's Masters preparations last Tuesday they were also witnessing the tournament's most unlikely figure applying the finishing touches to his game. Which prompted the patrons to ponder: 'Who's the guy with him?'

Well this straight-backed, rather senior-looking figure was in fact the first player to rewrite the record books last week. At 49, George Zahringer became the oldest player to make a Masters debut. He'd been invited to join Couples and Ray Floyd in Tuesday's practice round and is having the time of his life. 'It's actually a privilege to be playing here,' he told me. 'It's a thrilling event and a great week.'

Even so, the first thing he did after his practice round was to log in to his laptop and check the latest share prices. As a New York stockbroker, Zahringer has to think about the day job even during Masters week.

To qualify for the year's first major, Zahringer won the US Mid-Amateur Championship, an event restricted to players over 25. The tournament has its own prestige, but the invitation for the winner to travel down Magnolia Drive, clubs in hand, six months later gives it its glory. He'd come desperately close in 2001 only to lose the 36-hole final by one hole to Tim Jackson.

Undeterred, Zahringer juggled his work schedules to ensure his game was in the best shape possible 12 months later when he headed to the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. After 36 holes of medal play he shared the lead to qualify for the matchplay stage with ease, and by the end of the week he was back in the final.

'In 2001 it was my first time to the final, and quite frankly when I got to the final again it was a real advantage to have been there before, in terms of pacing myself. There's a lot of golf involved, three double rounds in a row including the 36-hole final. It would have been great to have won it first time around, but I feel very pleased and fortunate to have prevailed this time.'

Zahringer tried to banish thoughts of a possible trip to Augusta, but 'it's the kind of thing that then creeps into your mind more and more frequently in the following weeks and months. You think about how you are going to prepare, certainly that was the case for me, not being in college or playing a normal college competitive schedule that the other four kids [Ricky Barnes, Alejandro Larrazabal, Hunter Mahan, and Ryan Moore - the other amateurs in the Masters field] would play.'

Thursday's washout didn't help anyone, the tournament's oldest debutant included. The soggy conditions quickly took their toll as he suffered a double-bogey six at the first. Indeed, rounds of 82 and 85 were worse than he'd expected, but ultimately this was about the taking part, not the result. Zahringer had earned the right to be here, and his scoring wasn't going to spoil the experience. 'It was nice walking on, it was nice walking off.' He won't forget the bit in the middle either.